Crossing guard



J. M. MORGAN Oct. 10, I939.

CROSSING GUARD 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 23, 1937 Oct. 10, 1939. J MORGAN 2,175,636

Filed Nov. 23, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 xiv/v0 ryan Patented Oct. 10, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFiCE 1 Claim.

This invention relates to railway or other crossing guards such, for instance, as might be used at the intersection of a secondary road with a main highway, and particularly to a guard or 5 stop designed to cause an automobile to come to a stop or at least materially slow down before crossing the track or entering on the main highway.

A further object is the provision of a device of this character which includes a platform having the length of an ordinary vehicle and designed to be depressed by the weight of the vehicle but normally being urged to an upwardly inclined position, and a vehicle stop which is normally lowered to a position level with the pavement or roadway but which is raised upon the depression of the main platform, this stop being urged to a lowered position but means being provided for delaying or checking the immediate return of the stop to its lowered position.

Other objects have to do with the details of construction and arrangement of parts as will appear more fully hereinafter.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a railroad crossing provided with two guards one on each side of the crossing.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, showing the platform raised and the stop lowered. 1

I Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a section on the same section line as Fig. 5, but showing the platform depressed under the weight of the vehicle and the stop raised.

I Referring to these drawings, l designates a 40 stretch of roadway which, as illustrated, is of concrete or like material. The face of the roadway at a point in advance of the railroad track T is recessed or chambered, as at H. Pivoted to move downward into this chamber or recess 45 and flush with the roadway is a platform I2, which is shown as pivoted at I3, to the walls of the recess II. This platform may be of any suitable construction and may be made of wood or metal or of any other suitable material. The platform is shown as being urged upward by a spring l4, but other means for urging the platform upward might be used. A chain l limits the upward movement of the platform so that the platform extends upward at an angle to the road surface. When a car runs upon this platform,

the platform is depressed against the action of the spring I4.

Formed in the roadway H] is a second recess or chamber l6 which is disposed considerably in advance of the platform l2, that is, between this platform and the track T. This recess it has a width greater than the average distance between the transversely alined wheels of the automobile. The same is true, of course, of the recess Pivoted within the recess thereof nearest the track is a stop element It, the pivot of which is designated l8. The roadway |9 between the recess H and the recess it is formed to constitute a support for the platform l2 when the latter is lowered as, for instance, by rabbeting the upper surface of the roadway at 20. The same means is provided for supporting the free end of the stop element when the latter is lowered.

For the purpose of causing the raising of the stop element |I when the platform I2 is lowered under the weight of a vehicle, I provide a lever 2| shown as extending entirely across the recess l, but not necessarily constructed in this detailed manner, which lever is pivoted to the walls of the recess, as at 22. The upper end of this lever has angular ears 23, as shown in Fig. 3, supporting an anti-friction roller 24 which bears against longitudinal members 25 forming a track attached to the underface of the platform l2. spring 26 or other suitable instrumentality having the equivalent function is so disposed as to urge the lever 2| upward into the position shown in Fig. 2. As illustrated, this spring has its base embedded in the concrete forming the floor of the recess H and a resilient arm bearing against the underface of the lever 2|. This spring urges the lever 2| upward and resists the downward movement of the platform |2.

Disposed in a pipe or other housing 2i is a connecting rod 28 which is supported in rollers 29. This connecting rod at one end is connected by a link 30 to the lever 2| and at its other end by a link 3| to the stop element l'l. Thus, when the platform I2 is depressed, the stop element ll will rise and when a vehicle has passed off the platform l2, the platform will rise under the action of the spring I4 and the lever 2| will rise under the action of the spring 26.

In order to prevent the depression of the stop element immediately that the platform l2 rises, I provide a pneumatic cushion operating in the manner of the ordinary door stop which delays the downward movement of the stop element l1 under the action of the spring 26.

l6 at the outer end AS illus- TIE trated in Fig. 2, this cushion comprises the cylinder 32 having operating therein a piston 33, the piston rod of which is connected to a T 34 mounted upon the connecting rod 28. That end of the cylinder toward the platform I2 is provided with a perforated head 35. When the piston 33 is drawn to the right in Fig. 2 by the depression of the platform |2, air will be sucked in to the cylinder 32, but when the platform is released from the weight of a vehicle and the lever 2| starts to rise under the action of the spring 26, the cushion of air in between the piston and the head 35 will check or retard the movement of the connecting rod 28 so that the lever 2| will rise and the stop element I! will lower very slowly. This obliges the automobile to stop upon the portion IQ of the pavement until the stop element H has fully lowered.

While only one connecting rod 28 has been heretofore adverted to, it is to be understood that there are two of these connecting rods 28 and two links 3| and two links 30, but only one of these connecting rods need be connected to the check formed by the cylinder 32 and the piston 33.

The operation of this device will be obvious from what has gone before. As shown in Fig. 1, there are two of these sections of pavement l0, each disposed on the right hand side of the roadway and disposed on opposite sides of the track T. Guard fences 36 are disposed on each side of the pavement l so as to prevent vehicles from traveling on the wrong side of the roadway as they approach the crossing. When the vehicle reaches the crossing, its weight will, of course, depress the corresponding platform l2 and this, through the instrumentalities described, will lift the corresponding stop member When the rear wheels of the automobile have passed the platform |2, the platform will lift under the action of the spring I 4, but the stop element I! which has been raised by depression of the platform |2 will remain raised and only gradually lower to its fully lowered position. Meanwhile, the automobile is detained upon the portion IQ of the roadway until the stop element has fully lowered into its recess. The automobile then can proceed.

While I have illustrated the lever 2| as being disconnected from the platform I 2 so that the platform I 2 may rise immediately that the wheels of the vehicle pass off it, yet it is within the purview of my invention to connect the lever 2| with the platform |2, so that the platform will also be detained in its lowered position after the vehicle wheels have passed off it and will only gradually rise.

If desired, a signal may be connected to this mechanism as, for instance, to the guard l1, so that when this guard is raised by a depression of the platform |2, the guard will indicate plainly that the driver must stop. Obviously also, a signal might be disposed in advance of the platform |2 to indicate to an oncoming driver that he must slow up or take the consequences. This signal might be either a movable signal or a fixed signal and in the former case, it would, of course, be connected with some movable part of the mechanism as, for instance, the platform I 2 or the rod 28 or the guard IT.

This device may be applied to railway crossings, street intersections or to any place where it is desirable to stop or detain a motor vehicle so as to cause the vehicle to slow down. At railroad crossings, it gives an opportunity for the driver to stop, look and listen and at intersections it prevents the driver entering the main street from a cross street, from suddenly entering the main street.

While I have illustrated certain details of construction and a certain arrangement of parts, it is to be understood that many minor details might be changed without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claim. Thus. other means than the spring I4 might be used for raising the platform l2 and other springs or means might be used in place of the springs 26 for raising the levers 2|. Obviously, also, the detailed construction of the pneumatic check 32 might be changed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I have illustrated the forward edge of the stop element H as being provided with reflecting bosses 32 which will reflect light at night and yet be out of view when the stop element is fully lowered, but obviously other means may be used for attracting attention to the raised stop element.

What is claimed is:

In a crossing guard of the character described for use in a roadway at a highway intersection, a vehicle platform pivotally supported at the approach end in a recess in the roadway, a stop member disposed in a recess between the platform and the intersecting highway and pivotally supported upon the side remote from the platform, an arm pivotally coupled to said stop member and extending downwardly into the adjacent recess, a conduit connecting said recesses, a lever pivotally supported in the recess of the first platform, spring means normally urging said lever upwardly, an arm pivotally connected at one end to said lever, a rigid coupling extending through the conduit and joining said arms, said coupling and the arms being proportioned so that the said stop means will be depressed in its recess when said lever is raised to extend upwardly from its recess, a roller member carried by said lever and extending transversely of the underside of the platform, tracks extending longitudinally of the underside of the platform and engaged by said roller member, and spring means within the platform recess engaging and urging the platform upwardly independently of the spring actuated lever.

JAMES M. MORGAN. 

